CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Final draft of project of History

On

“BATTLE OF PLASSEY”

Submitted to: Dr. Priyadarshini Submitted By: Satyanand

Faculty of History Roll No: 2041

1st Year BBA. L.L.B. (Hons.)

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 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I, hereby, declare that the work reported in the BBA .L.L.B(Hons) Project Report titled
“BATTLE OF PLASSEY” submitted at CHANAKYANATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,
PATNA is an authentic record of my work carried under the supervision of Dr.Priyadarshini.
I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully responsible
for the contents of my Project Report.

(Signature of the Candidate)

Satyanand

BBA. L.L.B(Hons) 1st YEAR

SEMESTER-2nd

CNLU, PATNA

Dated:

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to show my gratitude towards my guide Professor. Priya Darshini, Faculty of Legal
History, under whose guidance, I structured my project.

I owe the present accomplishment of my project to our CNLU librarians, who helped me
immensely with the materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t have
completed it in the present way.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my friends and all those unseen hands that helped me
out at every stage of my project.

THANK YOU,

SATYANAND

SEMESTER 2nd

CNLU,Patna

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1.INTRODUCTION

The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab

of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The battle

consolidated the Company's presence in Bengal, which later expanded to cover much

of India over the next hundred years.1

1
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Plassey

4
The battle took place at Palashi (Anglicised version: Plassey) on the banks of the Hooghly River,

about 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Calcutta and south of Murshidabad,

Then capital of Bengal (now in Murshidabad district in West Bengal). The belligerents were the

Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and the British East India

Company.

Siraj-ud-Daulah had become the Nawab of Bengal the year before, and he ordered the English to

stop the extension of their fortification. Robert Clive bribed Mir Jafar, the commander-in-chief

of the Nawab's army, and also promised him to make him Nawab of Bengal. Clive defeated

Siraj-ud-Daulah at Plassey in 1757 and captured Calcutta.2

The battle was preceded by an attack on British-controlled Calcutta by Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah

and the Black Hole massacre. The British sent reinforcements under Colonel Robert Clive and

Admiral Charles Watson from Madras to Bengal and recaptured Calcutta. Clive then seized the

initiative to capture the French fort of Chandernagar. Tensions and suspicions between Siraj-ud-

daulah and the British culminated in the Battle of Plassey. The battle was waged during

the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), and, in a mirror of their European rivalry, the French East

India Company sent a small contingent to fight against the British. Siraj-ud-Daulah had a

numerically superior force and made his stand at Plassey.3

2
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/battle-plassey
3
https://www.britishbattles.com/anglo-french-wars-in-india/battle-of-plassey/

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The British, worried about being outnumbered, formed a conspiracy with Siraj-ud-Daulah's

demoted army chief Mir Jafar, along with others such as Yar Lutuf Khan, Jagat Seths (Mahtab

Chand and Swarup Chand), Umichand and Rai Durlabh. Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh and Yar Lutuf

Khan thus assembled their troops near the battlefield but made no move to actually join the

battle. Siraj-ud-Daulah's army with 50,000 soldiers, 40 cannons and 10 war elephants was

defeated by 3,000 soldiers of Col. Robert Clive, owing to the flight of Siraj-ud-Daulah from the

battlefield and the inactivity of the conspirators. The battle ended in 11 hours.

This is judged to be one of the pivotal battles in the control of Indian subcontinent by the

colonial powers. The British now wielded enormous influence over the Nawab and consequently

acquired significant concessions for previous losses and revenue from trade. The British further

used this revenue to increase their military might and push the other European colonial powers

such as the Dutch and the French out of South Asia, thus expanding the British Empire.4

4
https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/armenians-clive-and-the-battle-of-
plassey/article24230759.ece

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2.COMBATANTS

The British East India Company against Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and

Orissa, and a small French force. The British were assisted by traitors in the Nawab's

highcommand.5

Generals: Colonel Robert Clive against Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal.

5
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Plassey

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Robert Clive of the British East India Company was actually the one who was declared victor of

the Battle of Plassey, which took place 70 miles north of Calcutta in 1757. Clive, headed 1,000

English and 2,000 Indian (sepoy) soldiers. 6He, with eight pieces of artillery, routed 50,000

soldiers and 50 French-manned cannons of his opponent Siraj-ud-Daula, the Governor, or Nawab

of Bengal.

It was the victory of Plassey which established British supremacy in Bengal.

Clive thought that the best way to make safe the Company's interests in Bengal was to replace

Siraj with a new and more docile nawab. He found a candidate in an unhappy elderly general

named Mir Jafar and after complicated conspiratorial talks and the promise of huge bribes to all

concerned, a secret agreement was smuggled into the women's quarters of Mir Jafar's house,

which was being watched by Siraj's spies, and Mir Jafar signed it.

6
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/battle-of-plassey-248505-2015-04-14

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3.BACKGROUND AND SERIES OF

EVENTS

In India, Britain was represented by the British East India Company, a venture that had been

given a royal charter in 1600 to pursue trade in the East Indies that included the right to form its

own army. The French East India Company had a similar remit. From 1746, the rival companies

fought the Carnatic Wars for advantage in India, where they maintained trading posts, and sought

influence over local rulers. 7

In 1755, Siraj ud-Daulah became Nawab of Bengal and adopted a pro-French policy. He overran

British trading posts, including Calcutta, where British prisoners were allegedly left to die in the

infamous "black hole of Calcutta." Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clive was sent from Madras to

retake Calcutta and from there began plotting the overthrow of the nawab.
7
Harrington, Peter. Plassey 1757, Clive of India's Finest Hour. London: Osprey Publishing, 1994.

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One of the nawab’s discontented followers, Mir Jafar, was bribed secretly with a promise of the

throne if he would back the British. Other Bengali generals were also suborned.8

Clive advanced on the Bengali capital, Murshidabad, and was confronted by the nawab’s army at

Plassey (Palashi) by the Bhaghirathi River. The balance of forces seemed to make a British

victory impossible. The nawab’s army numbered 50,000, two-thirds infantry armed at best with

matchlock muskets. The French had sent artillerymen to bolster the Bengali cannon to more than

fifty guns. Facing this host, Clive arranged his force of 3,000, composed of European and Sepoy

troops and a much smaller force of artillery.

The French artillery opened fire first, followed by the Bengali guns. The British guns returned

fire. Due to the close proximity of the Bengali cavalry to the French guns, Clive’s bombardment

missed the artillery but caused damage to the cavalry, forcing the nawab to pull them back for

protection.

When the nawab’s infantry advanced, Clive’s field guns opened fire with grapeshot along with

volleys of infantry musket fire, and the Bengali troops were held back. Mir Jafar, with around

one-third of the Bengali army, failed to join in the fighting, despite pleas from the nawab, and

remained isolated on one flank.

8
Landes, David S. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. New York: Norton and Company, 1999.

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The battle appeared to be heading for a stalemate when it started to rain. Clive had brought

tarpaulins to keep his powder dry, but the Bengalis had no such protection. Thinking that the

British guns were rendered as ineffective as his own by damp powder, the nawab ordered his

cavalry to charge. However, the British guns opened fire and slaughtered many of the cavalry,

killing their commander Mir Madan Khan. The nawab panicked at the loss of this valued general

and ordered his forces to fall back, exposing the French artillery contingent. This was rushed by

the British and captured. With the French cannon taken, the British bombarded the nawab’s

positions without reply and the tide of the battle turned. The nawab fled the battlefield on a

camel, and Mir Jafar was duly installed in power as a British puppet.9

9
Spear, Percival. Master of Bengal. Clive and His India. London: Thames & Hudson, 1975.

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4.Terms of agreement

These were the terms agreed between the new Nawab and the Company:

1. Confirmation of the mint, and all other grants and privileges in the Alinagar treaty with

the late Nawab.

2. An alliance, offensive and defensive, against all enemies whatever.

3. The French factories and effects to be delivered up, and they never permitted to resettle in

any of the three provinces.

4. 100 lacs of rupees to be paid to the Company, in consideration of their losses at Calcutta

and the expenses of the campaign.

5. 50 lacs to be given to the British sufferers at the loss of Calcutta

6. 20 lacs to Gentoos, Moors, & black sufferers at the loss of Calcutta.

7. 7 lacs to the Armenian sufferers. These three last donations to be distributed at the

pleasure of the Admiral and gentlemen of Council.

8. The entire property of all lands within the Mahratta ditch, which runs round Calcutta, to

be vested in the Company: Also, six hundred yards, all round, without, the said ditch.

9. The Company to have the zemindary of the country to the south of Calcutta, lying

between the lake and river, and reaching as far as Culpee, they paying the customary

rents paid by the former zemindars to the government.

10. Whenever the assistance of the British troops shall be wanted, their extraordinary charges

to be paid by the Nawab.

11. No forts to be erected by the Nawab's government on the river side, from Hooghley

downwards.

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5.QUOTES
 He (Robert Clive) won it by promoting treason and forgery"—First Indian Prime

Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India

 "British rule in India had an unsavory beginning and something of that bitter taste has

clung to it ever since."—First Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of

India

 "A great prince was dependent on my pleasure, an opulent city lay at my mercy; its richest

bankers bid against each other for my smiles; I walked through vaults which were thrown

open to me alone, piled on either hand with gold and jewels! Mr. Chairman, at this

moment I stand astonished at my own moderation"—Baron Robert Clive commenting on

accusations of looting the Bengal treasury after Plassey, at his impeachment trial in 1773

 "Heaven-born general"—British Prime Minister William Pitt "The Elder," Earl of

Chatham referring to Robert Clive

 "It is possible to mention men who have owed great worldly prosperity to breaches of

private faith; but we doubt whether it is possible to mention a state which has on the whole

been a gainer by a breach of public faith."—Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay, later

British Secretary at War, who condemned Clive's actions

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6.CONCLUSION

Though it was more of a skirmish than a battle, the British victory under Robert Clive at Plassey

in Bengal was a crucial event in the history of India.

According to Clive, he lost 18 men, while he estimated the nawab’s dead as around 500. Siraj-

ad-daula was killed by his own people and Mir Jafar replaced him. Clive, who was now

effectively master of Bengal, skilfully bolstered Mir Jafar’s apparent authority while keeping

him on leading strings. The skirmish at Plassey was critical to the East India Company’s triumph

over its French rivals and, in the longer term, to the establishment of British rule in India. 10

The British government made Clive the Baron of Plassey. Events that developed after Clive's

victory at the Battle of Plassey would change the British East India Company from a trading

company to a governing power and draw Britain to conquer the whole of India. The skirmish at

Plassey was critical to the East India Company’s triumph over its French rivals and, in the longer

term, to the establishment of British rule in India Thus, the Battle of Plassey was a historic

turning point, and its principal participant Robert Clive, an empire builder.

10
https://www.gktoday.in/gk/battle-of-plassey/

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BIBILIOGRAPHY

Books referred:
1)The Battle of Plassey 1757: The Victory That Won an Empire – by Stuart REID

2) The Battle of Plassey and the Conquest of Bengal – by Michael Eduardes

3) From Plassey to Partition and After: A History of Modern India – By Shekhar

Bandhopadhyay

Websites:
1)https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Plassey

2)https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/battle-plassey

3)https://www.britishbattles.com/anglo-french-wars-in-india/battle-of-plassey/

4)https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/armenians-clive-and-th
e-battle-of-plassey/article24230759.ece

5)http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Plassey

6)https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/battle-of-
plassey-248505-2015-04-14

7)Harrington, Peter. Plassey 1757, Clive of India's Finest Hour. London: Osprey
Publishing, 1994.

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8)Landes, David S. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. New York: Norton and
Company, 1999.

9)Spear, Percival. Master of Bengal. Clive and His India. London: Thames &
Hudson, 1975.

10)https://www.gktoday.in/gk/battle-of-plassey/

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